Oldsmobile—one of the oldest automobile manufacturers in the world—is a legendary car brand founded in 1887. Its iconic logo has as rich a history as the vehicles themselves.

A legendary marque with a long history, Oldsmobile’s logos have reflected the brand's major milestones throughout the years. The five redesigns marked dramatic shifts in the company’s identity. From expensive and ornate looking to cool and simple, the Oldsmobile logo has gone through such extreme changes that you may not even recognize the older versions!

Looking for a trip down memory lane? This articles breaks down the history of the Oldsmobile logo, including the details of each design, and offers tips for how to protect your ionic vehicle with the very best

car insurance

policy.

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How to lower your Oldsmobile car insurance costs

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History of the Oldsmobile logo

Oldsmobile was an American brand of automobiles founded by Ransom E. Olds in 1897 in Lansing, Michigan. Originally established as the “Olds Motor Vehicle Company,” Oldsmobile became a division of General Motors between 1908 and 1909.

From classic to modern, the Oldsmobile logo saw five major redesigns—and plenty of variations—since its inception in 1887.

Oldsmobile logo changes through time

While the logo was consistently tweaked from model year to model year, the Oldsmobile logo saw five major redesigns. Here’s the history of the iconic symbol:

1887-1919: The original Oldsmobile logo featured an ornate crest, which was typical for logos designed at the end of the 19th century. The wordmark was placed on a ribbon horizontally crossing the crest.

1919-1940: 22 years after creation, the company logo was changed dramatically, becoming fairly simple, with curvy letters spelling “Oldsmobile” and a road-like underline

1940-1959: The company then changed its logo to a depiction of a globe encircled in a silver ring and separated in the middle by a silver plate. A greenish-blue halo, symbolizing the atmosphere, surrounded the chrome logo. The logo represented the cosmic style that Oldsmobile was attempting to embrace.

1960-1981: Outer space got a lot of attention in the late 50s and early 60s, and Oldsmobile was clearly inspired by the idea. Their new logo was simple, depicting a slim, black rocket headed upwards. The brand also started calling its new V8 engines “rocket engines.”

1981-1996: The theme of space lost its spark, so Oldsmobile redesigned its rocket-like logo to look more like an arrow on a highway.

1996-2004: The final logo redesign was dramatic, changing out sharp lines and squared edges for rounded ones. The iconic “rocket” depiction remains but is now placed horizontally, resembling more of a sailboat than a spaceship.

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How to make money restoring classic cars

What’s behind the Oldsmobile logo design?

Early Oldsmobile logos were rarely used as car badges. Instead, the manufacturer typically put a big ole “OLDSMOBILE” mark on the hood—but that’s about it.

Still, the company gave its logo a lot of thought, and—since the 1940s—designed its logos to represent both outer space and the open road.

The newest version—designed in 1996—was the only one regularly used on vehicles, and was often seen in a variety of colors, including silver, bronze, and gold.

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How to save money on car insurance for your Oldsmobile

Oldsmobiles are no longer manufactured, and many vintage vehicles are thought of as luxury collector items that are expensive to insure. Fortunately, you can save money on your car insurance policy with

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Jerry customers save an average of over $800 a year on

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“WOW.
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